Human pathogenic RNA viruses establish noncompeting lineages by occupying independent niches.

ABSTRACT: Many pathogenic viruses are endemic among human populations and can cause a broad variety of diseases, some potentially leading to devastating pandemics. How virus populations maintain diversity and what selective pressures drive population turnover is not thoroughly understood. We conducted a large-scale phylodynamic analysis of 27 human pathogenic RNA viruses spanning diverse life history traits, in search of unifying trends that shape virus evolution. For most virus species, we identify multiple, cocirculating lineages with low turnover rates. These lineages appear to be largely noncompeting and likely occupy semiindependent epidemiological niches that are not regionally or seasonally defined. Typically, intralineage mutational signatures are similar to interlineage signatures. The prin

SUBMITTER: Mutz P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9191635 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature